Apply to the KALW News Summer Journalism Program

KALW is an NPR and BBC affiliate public radio station based in San Francisco that has a deep history of developing new and diverse public media talent. The KALW newsroom has been training audio journalists at all levels for nearly two decades. We’re nationally known for our training programs, and our network of alumni have gone on to work as producers on national networks including NPR, Stitcher, and Gimlet Media, and local and national shows like The California Report (KQED), Post Reports (Washington Post), and Into America (MSNBC).

Applications are currently open for our Summer Academy, a three-and-a-half-month journalism program that is a great opportunity for someone who has a basic level of experience producing radio features and wants to build on that in a supportive, collaborative newsroom. (If you're a total beginner, check out our nine-month Audio Academy that runs from September through June — applications open in March.)

About the program

You will be an integral part of the production of our daily news show, Crosscurrents. One day a week in our newsroom, you’ll help with newsroom tasks like fact-checking and research, and produce news spots. You'll also be invited to pitch and produce audio features (approximately 6-minute audio documentaries that include the use of sound and scene, like this). You'll participate in four evening seminars that will help you grow as a journalist, covering topics that include:

• art of the pitch;
• thinking in sound and scene;
• and editing in ProTools.

Start date: May 29, 2024
End date: September 13, 2024

Program commitment:

• One regularly scheduled day in our newsroom per week, approximately 8 hours (Pay is $20/hr)
• Four seminars every Wednesday evening in June (free/unpaid training)
• Opportunity to pitch and produce audio features for our daily news magazine, Crosscurrents. If assigned, reporters will be compensated commensurate with our current contributor guide.

We do our best to accommodate individual schedules for newsroom days. All four evening seminars take place Wednesday evenings between 6:30 and 9 p.m. in June. These are taught by our staff who are experienced teachers and professionals in the field.
If you’re not able to commit for the full duration of the program, some exceptions may be possible — please explain more in your application. Enrollment in a college or university is not necessary to participate.

About you

We’re looking for creative thinkers who are great writers and storytellers with a passion for reporting on diverse communities and ideally some knowledge of the Bay Area. Our newsroom is known for “going deeper” and telling nuanced, sound-rich stories. You will be:

• Pitching, reporting, and producing original stories for broadcast and online distribution
• Interviewing potential guests/sources
• Researching topics
• Fact-checking
• Building skills in story structure, voicing, digital production, engineering, and sound design
• Helping with administrative and production duties in our newsroom 

We’re looking for candidates that:

• Have demonstrable experience interviewing, field recording, writing for radio, and digitally editing audio 
• Are computer literate, especially with Macs and Google Docs
• Are self-starters who can work independently and also enjoy collaboration
• Are able to commit to a minimum of 16 hours a week during the internship, including one regularly-scheduled work day (Mon–Thu) at KALW’s studios in San Francisco
• Slick dance moves appreciated, but not required!